Brush-making machine



2 Sheets-Sfiet 1 June 24, 1930. A. E. MUELLER I BRUSH MAKING MACHINE Filed Nov. 3, 1924 3 nm A 5 6 M w 6% H I mu 5% J 1930. A. E. MUELLER 1,765,769

BRUSH MAKING MACHINE Filed Nov. 3, 1924 2 shgets-sneaz. 2

xyw zamwzz r fi g iwez zzor Patented June 24, 193D "UNITEDSTATES VAUGUSI'IO E. MUELIlER or onrceeo; ILLiNors, ssIeNoR or ONE-HALF VTO1MATUV'RIYCE I BRITZ, or oHronGq-IL INoIs I i' ries FATE-Nit "BRUSH-MAKING MACHINE Applicationfiled November 3, 195 24.v Seria1.i\To. 747,483. I

Theinvention' herein disclosed pertains to the manufacture of brooms," brushes, mops and the like and is more particularly'directed to a machinefor manufacturing articles of this classsuch as those set forth in m copending application, Serial No. 747,484, filed of even date herewith;

v In the manufacture ofjbr'ooms', brushes, mops, swabs, and the like, it has bee'n' usu'al to bind thebristl'es, fiber, or other material of which the article may be composed, into a more or less loose bundle, andjto back the bundle or otherwise providefitwith aehandle for .use. This binding is generally donefby hand, though machines 'fors'ewinglwire or thread, through. and through the fiber to secure it; in an aggregate bundle are sometimes provided, but do not thoroughly secure the material together, since theyjare not constructed to do more than quicken the open ations heretofore performed by hand, In no case, however, to my knowledge, hasa ma-' chine been. provided which will compress the fiber of the broom, brush, mop or the like,

to a substantial solid condition and" simultaneously bind the material,permanentlyjin that relation. h I

-With the aid of my invention'the' old methodsof manufacturing brooms, brushes,

and the likelmay'be antiquated, for withits use, I am enabled to providean 'artlcle at minimum price without decreasing durabilit The machine which-I have constructed embodying this invention is of itself novel in its functional ability to carry out parts of the process disclosed in my aforesaid copending application. ,The process disclosed in this copendingapplication consists, briefly stated, iii/cutting the material of which the 40 article is to be made into lengths slightly greater than necessary or desirable. for the finished article to allow for trimming, positioning a predetermined amount, of this materialv within a suitable clamp or securing one end of the aggregateuntil substantially ii-ii no intersticesremain between theni'or' until the pressure causes the 1ndividualfibers to frictionally 'in'terengage one another to preventtheir beingpulled out under normal 7 and contmued usage, and tightlysecuring the clamp 'or other securing means about the ends of thefiberswhile they'a re thus held under compression. -.Further description of the process 'isunnecessary, although it may be had upon reference to said copending application. i I I Throughout the-jdesc'riptionand' claims I shall:v refer'to the material of which the body or working porti'ono'f the broom, brush, mop, orthelike' is composed as fiber,;regardless of whether or not this material be true fiber, such "asthat of jute,"hemp, or corn, for it is obvious that wire, cord, rags, or any other material orform thereof, serviceablefor use broom, mop,for'swab, maybe usedin its stead. Under thesefcircumstances, it

should be clearly understood that the'term efiber is used herein without desire to limit thescope'of the claims to fiber in itsstrict 'definitionfOther materialslare intended to the individualffibers at the point of. binding v or compression will bereduce'dto asubsta'ntial minimum. r l Stillan'other' object is toprovideamaehine the line33 ofFig: 2;'

Y b n theother handthe'punchpresshead 4 which will eirert pressure upona bundleof fiber'sufficient to tightly compact it :and which, while so pressingthe fiber will engage a clamp or other securing means about the fiber at orabout the point or points in compressed condition.

Further objects Wlll appear and should'be 1 appreciated from the following description and claims taken in connection with the draw g n inch;v 7. Q F 1g, :1 s a front ,elevatmn ofa portion of a machine: embodying my invention;

Fig; 2 is a similar view to that of Fig. 1,

. .partsbeing taken inscction; r

Fig. 3is a view taken substantially along Figs;v 4 and 5 are views similar to that of Fig. 2 but with parts broken awayand showingconsecutive steps of the machines opera- L ns; Fig, .6 is asection' o Fig: 5, nd, I 1

Fig; 7 is View of a preferred form of fiber taken along the line 6 6 c amp vr V In illustratmgmy invention, I have not shown a complete machine, but only a die 5 member'operat-ivgelyengaging with the'head of an ordinary punch pressjior the like, but

'itshould be understood that a complete machine embracing my invention integrally 7 ;]within its component partsmay be constructed V utilized for my purpose. Mounted between ahead 2, which is preferably vertical ly adjustahle and'areciprocable head c4 of a punch pr s a di mec anism g nera ly designated 6 and composed of a bed inember Q8 carryingl a pair'of U-shap'ed guide blocks :10, center block 12recessed at 14 and 1 6 to 7 receive springs 18, which are respectivelylconnectedat their outer ends, to horizontally reciprocabledie members 20,- a work receiving bed r-supporting iplate22 and a recessed Lposition OrQguide block '24. The block 24 may, be adjustably' secured with respect to h hlQckIZ by means o e s 2 and'while the blocks 12,22, and 24 may be formed in- V 'tegral withthegbed 8 of the lower die members they are preferably removably secured Vin positionthereon and are made in difii'erent "interchangeable sizes. The blocks 10 are preferably arranged for adjustment toward and from one'another and for this purpose aiie slotted as shown .at laan'd are secured in adjustedposition by means of bolts 1 5 3 These parts described partake of no-verti cal movement generally'e'xcept that the bed 7 7 plate ,mayebe raised or lowered with respect tor he' head 4:" 0611 11101; p shp s an th keifo adj tment e ati to -th onn sinsifliememb rs.

" is 're iu o'ca lsa 'd u a y recessed to r ceive ashank 26 jori'any other suitable connect on between lt and the vertically move able die'fmembers cooperative with those'fixed upon the bed plate'2. In this instance,'th1e shank 26 is formed integral with a head 28 adapted to receive a punch die, or the like, 30 removably secured therein by means of asset 'screw 32 and carries a resiliently mounted plate or secondary head34 through whichthe punch 30 passes, to which head 34 is secured in any suitable manner'such as by stud bolts 36, a pair of spacedpresser feet 38 and 40, r

The head 34, with its presser feet is'recipro- 'cably mounted in the head'28, which is re- U cessed as at 42 (one recess shown) to receive 7 r the heads of stud bolts 44 and 46 slidably f- :therein. -These bolts be adJusted to vary 7 the distance between the heads 28 and 34, and

locked in adjusted position by means of lock" v nuts 48. Springs '50 and 52 are interposed between the heads 28 and 34 in any suitable manner to normally urge and holdthese members 111' spaced relation Vvllll-J movement of the head. 34 toward the head 28 is limited by engagement of the heads of the studfbolts 44 and 46 with the bottom'iace of the punch *8 press'head.

.' Securcd to opposite sides oi the head 28 by means of stud bolts 54 and with shiinsor washers 55 nterposed, '1s a palr of similar cam arms" 56 provided with bevelled faces 58 adapted to engage with correspondingly bevelled ends ofthe horizontally reciprocable downwardly, the cam surf acesfwillengage the ends ofthe'dies20 to move them inwardly toward'one another. Theplate 8is'suitably recessed at 59 to permit idownward'passage of the cam arms 56 and are slightly wider, in one direction, i, e., in a direction toward one an:

Qthentha'n'in the other ,for a purpose to' be explained; p v

The positioning block 24'is recessed as at '60 to a width suitable to receive a bundleof fiber 62 which may be held within a recep.ta

cle 64, more particularly'describedin my" copendingapplication, and the block '12 is correspondingly recessed as shown at,66 to confine and position the ends 'ofthe fiber with respect to the pressing and clamp setting dies. The horizontal dies 20 travel in slots 67'.

in the block 12 andare proportioned and arranged .to fall short of being ii-usli wit-lithe sides of the recess in theiiositicnin block 24 V c l a:

as at 68, in order that I may be 'setand snl'stantially-fixedly' positioned therein. Thus, whcn the ends oiithe fiber contained in the receptacle 64 are placed between the clampdies, they will fall within the Vertical sides'ofthe clamp 70. f

in operation, a bundle of ii of the operator so that the ends thereof will pro ect a reasonable distance beyond, is

- I Der; lllGlOSBCl' I within its receptacle or held within thc'hand whilethe guide bloclc l2 slightly recessed a fi shapcd clamp placed upon the supporting plate 22 with'l'he cndsewithin and abutting,against'the back of the recess 66 and within the sides of their ass die members so tnatwhcnthe head 28 is moved clamp 70 which has previously been set withinits positioning recess. In this position, the fiber is confined horizontally or transversely of its length while the head 4; is brought down until the presser feet 38 and 40 resiliently en gage the top of the bundle of fiber onv both sides of the clamp 70 as shown more clearly in Figure 6. 7

' This movement of the head 28 downward 1 continues, resiliently compressing thefibers until the heads of the guide bolts 44; abut the face of the die press 4, which continues downward further compressing and holding the fiber in tightly compressed relation while the 30 down to a point where it will'engage the bevelled ends of theclamp to force them down into. overlapping engagement and into contact with the fiber to securely clamp it in compressed relation, as shown in Figures 5 and 6. This last operation being completed,

the head i, carrying theupper die members is retracted to permit removal of the clamped fiber which isthen finished in accordance with thedisclosure in my copending application. Retraction of the head permits the springs 18 to move the dies QOapartL v The clamping member is preferably made of annealed spring. steel although any other material capable of being distorted and retaining its distortedform to tightly and substantially permanently, hold the fiber in compact and compressed. relation may be used. As it is essential for some kinds of fiber or material of which the body of the brush is composed, that it be held in tightly compressed relation during the clamp securing operations, it will be appreciatedthat my machine performs unique functions. 7 Long continued use of the machine may cause the horizontal clamp distorting dies 20 and their associated mechanism to wear to a greater or less degree and it becomes necessary to take up this wear or to replace'the worn parts. In the embodiment illustrated, wear may be compensated by removal of one or more shims 55 and by inward adjustment" of the blocks 10. The slots'59 are accordingly made wide enough to permit such adj ustments. It may be desired to vary. the amount of fiber to be bundled or clamped and to this end, the parts of the machine may be made in various sizes and adjustment of the relation of the upper and lower die members and their operating mechanism may be madeac- .cordingly. I V g While a preferred form of my invention has been illustrated and described, many modifications may be side as; will be appreciated byone skilled in the art andI do not, therefore, desire to'belimited except by the spirit of my invention and'the' scope of the appended claims."

I claim i 1. A machine of the class described comprising, means to laterally confine a plurality of fibers within a predetermined area and fora pre'determinedfiber length,means cooperative with said confining mean's'to compact saidfibers at spaced places, and

means independent of said cooperative means operative'to apply a fastener about said fibers between said spaced places to hold them in compacted relation. i

2; A machine of the class described comprising, means to laterally confine a plurality of fibers within a predetermined area and for a predetermined fiber length, resiliently v mounted means cooperative with said confining means to compact said fibers, and

means operative upon completion of the compactingoperation to secure said fibers in compacted COIIClliJlOIL.

3. In a machine of the class describedp-a die to receive and position a bundle of fiber and constructed and arranged to position a U-shaped clamping member in proximity to I and'adjacent one end of said bundle, means for compressing the fiber on opposite sides of" said member opposed means simultaneously operatlve to engage opposlte sides of said U-shaped member to preliminarily distort them, and means operative thereafter to drive said sides into clamping engagement with said bundle. 4; A machine of thecharacter described portingspaced'portions of the bottom of the bundle at said end, means for engaging the top of said bundle at'spacedplaces in register with said supporting means for com-.

pressing said fiber, means for supporting an open staple about a portion of said bundle comprising, means for confining the sides of an end of a bundle of fiber, means for supbetween said spaced places and'meansinclud ing laterally movable dies for applying and securing the staple about said bundle between sa d places of its compression.

5. comprising, means for confining the sides of an end of a bundle of fiber, means for supporting spaced portions ofthe bottom of the bundle at said end, r'eciprocable meansflfor engaglng the'top of said bundle at spaced places in register with said supporting.

k machine of the character described:

means for compressing said fiber. thereat,

meansfor supporting a U-shaped band about 7 a portion of said bundle between said spaced f v V 15765.,769

v6;;In a machineof the class described, a die for receiving and positioning a bundle of fiber and havingaredes's for holding and positioning aj'U-shaped' clamping member adjacent one end of said fiber'with the bot tom of the U transverse said fiber," die means for eompactingsaid .end of saidbundle at spaced places on opposite sides of said member, transversely movable means for pre- 10 lim-inary distorting the sides of said member over said end of said bundle of fiberf, and I .meansthereafter operative for forcing-the ends of said member into clamping engage- I ment with the fiber; about saidibundle end. '5 H "AUGUSTO EQMUELLEB. 

